pogoism

Yep, I know it’s old, but it’s still funny!

Channel 4 have confirmed that long-time Countdown presenter Carol Vorderman is to leave the show after 25 years.

She was the first woman on the channel, as Countdown was the first programme to be aired when the station launched on 2nd November 1982, and in that time appeared on over 4,500 shows.

She probably best know for the entertaining on-screen chemistry with long-running presenter, the late Richard Whiteley.

Said Channel 4′s Director of Television and Content, Kevin Lygo

We are extremely sorry to see Carol leave. She was the first woman on Channel 4 and has made an enormous contribution to the success of Countdown over the last twenty five years. We hope to work with her again on other projects.

Channel 4 said that they will announce replacements for her, and the recently announced departure of Des O’Connor soon.

After the jump is a piece of classic Countdown… (NSFW!)

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via Discovery Channel News

Scientists from Harvard Medical School have unveiled a new way to track disease outbreaks across the world. Their software monitors sites like the World Health Organisation, news websites and public health servs and builds a near realtime map of outbreaks. This information can then be used by doctors and researchers.

The idea was jointly conceived by John Brownstein of Harvard Medical School and Children’s Hospital Boston and Clark Friefeld, a Harvard Medical School software developer

We were originally thinking about how we could expand disease surveillance and pick up outbreaks earlier than traditional methods. It was a pilot project, a side gig…

According to Discovery News “the system identifies 95% of all disease outbreaks, sometimes days before the WHO or CDC announce them”.

The service is being improved to include other, more active, sources such as blogs, which although potentially less reliable, can be quicker to alert the authorities.

A quick look over Northern Ireland shows a few outbreaks of hospital acquired infections – one of C. difficile and another of MRSA.

As this service expands, it will become more and more useful, not just to doctors and researchers, but also to the public, as they can keep track on what is happening in their area, or if they are travelling in the near future. 

You can view HealthMap here.

Alphabeat

Speakeasy

Monday 14th July 2008

After having cancelled their date in May, Alphabeat brought their cheery 80s-inspired europop to rather warm bar in Belfast.

Support came from local band AJ Suzuki, who I wasn’t overly impressed with on the night, but having listened to some more of their stuff on their MySpace, it’s growing on me. One thing irked me, however. They encouraged under-age people to get their mates to buy them alcohol. It’s one of my pet hates when bands do stuff like this – it’s not cool, it’s pathetic. Anyway…

Then, at around 9pm, and after whipping up the crowd with a long intro, Alphabeat came on. They did most (if not all) of the tracks from the UK release of their album. It was interesting to see that not many people seemed to know the 3 new tracks on the UK release (Go Go, Touch Me Touching You and Public Image). It really was boiling, with Anders SG drenched in sweat by the 2nd song, no doubt due to his deranged dancing!

Personal highlights for me were Fantastic 6 (woo woo!), Go Go and the encore, Fascination. The gig was let down a bit however by the cover of the Sugababes track Push the Button. If you’re going to cover a song, you have to make some effort to make it your own, and I don’t think Alphabeat managed that.

But, overall, a great gig, well worth the wait!

After the jump, the video for the new version of Boyfriend and a few more (not very good) photos…

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Have a listen.

It’s awesome.

I booked a flight a few weeks ago, unsure whether I’d need to check-in baggage. Just went to review my booking and they wanted to charge me £24 for it! Thats £8 to check-in luggage each way, plus another £8 for airport check-in.

On top of a £7 flight, all seems ludicrous.

So, I’ve decided. Ryanair have lost a customer. I don’t care if Belfast International is less convienient, at least Easyjet have a fair luggage policy.

I promise no more whines about Ryanair :)

Photo by johnc24

I’m usually a big fan of Ryanair, with their cheap flights, and their no-frills approach. I even put up with their fanfare (and sometimes song) when the flight landed on time.

However, my experience yesterday will make me think twice about booking any more flights with them.

It started at the check-in, I was leaving NI for the year, and I had all my things that I’ll need when I’m away. I put the bag on the check-in scales to find out that they were 7kg overweight. Fine, I thought, that’ll only be about £40. Nope, they charge £12 per extra kilo – total £84.

Reluctantly, I paid, thinking that it was about time I got stung by them, and I have had many a cheap flight. Indeed, it’s still cheaper than bringing a car over by boat and collecting it that way.

Then, through security to find the departure lounge packed, for no obvious reason (it being a Monday evening). After struggling to find a seat we found that the plane had been delayed by 45 minutes, due to their tight turn-around times. Then, to queue up at the departure gate before even the plane had arrived.

The flight itself was wonderful, until the end. We landed, only to be informed that there wasn’t a gate free, so we couldn’t get off the flight. There were a lot of irate people by now, including the guy next to me who seemed particularly wound-up.

Anyway, maybe I’ve been very lucky in the last few years of frequent flying, but I’ve not had such a disasterous flight as this one. In the future. I’ll certainly think twice about flying with Ryanair over Flybe on the Belfast City – Stansted route.